The Tragic Life and Death of Matt Engarde
by GyakutenSaibanx3
Summary: Very few people knew of how Matt Engarde became such a psychotic, messed up person. And the only people who do know are now all dead. A story of Matt Engarde's past and how it led to case 2-4.
1. The Only Person There

**The Tragic Life and Death of Matt Engarde**

**Matt Engarde might be a very bad person to you, but he's one of my favorite bad guys in the whole AA series. Sure, he killed his rival, betrayed his paid assassin and got the murder he kind of deserved, but do you ever wonder **_**why **_**he ended up like that? I do. I did. And that's how this whole concept came to be, in ten minutes.**

**Matt Engarde—the one who got his rival, Juan Corrida, assassinated, and even betrayed the assassin willing to help him with his malice. A lot is enclosed about his past, but it wasn't enough for me. So, here it is.**

**Disclaimer: Capcom owns the Ace Attorney series—I just write about it.**

Original Fan Fiction by: Michelle V.

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><p>One. The Only Person There<p>

There were three of them—two were big and bulky guys, and the other was a scrawny, almost feminine boy. The scrawny one was laid flat on the floor, bleeding from his mouth and nose. The two big guys stood over him and spat.

"That's what you deserve, queer," one said. He kicked dirt into the skinny boy's eyes. The boy coughed and tried to rub the dirt out of his eyes, but it only made it worse.

"Scream like a girl," the other teased, "do things that fags do! Just make us laugh before we smash your face in." He laughed loudly, before a teacher approached them.

"Matthew, what's wrong?" she called. She started to walk over, and the boys ran away. "Hey!" the teacher called. But, as she saw the terrible condition the boy was in, she rushed to his side.

"Oh, God…" she muttered, "Matthew! What happened?" She tried helping him sit up, until the boy named Matthew let out a glass-shattering shriek.

"M-my ribs…!" he cried, cringing and leaning forward, "I-I think they're broken…" He laid back down on the floor on his side and tears stormed down his face. He held his stomach to try and stop himself from what he felt as vomit coming up.

The teacher quickly got up and covered her mouth. "Just hold on, alright, Matthew? I'll call an ambulance." She quickly ran away, and all the other students standing in the yard just stared at him. None of them bothered to help him; they knew that if they helped the bullies' prey, they would have to face the bullies themselves. So, all they did was watch as Matthew cried and shook from the excruciating pain.

"They got him again," a student murmured.

The other murmured back, "Yeah, they think he's gay, but I heard he's not."

"Poor kid," another said aloud. "What grade is he in? He's only a freshman, huh?"

Although they felt severe pity for him, they just walked by, and Matthew watched them. He watched as they all laughed and didn't care at all for his condition. Soon, his eyesight dimmed, and he closed his heavy eyes.

* * *

><p>As Matthew finally came to, his eyelids sluggishly came open. He saw white all around him. He lifted his head a little, and saw a cheap television bolted to the wall and a curtain surrounding the comfortable bed he was in.<p>

_Am I_, Matthew thought, _in the hospital?_

He looked to his left, and saw some flowers and a few presents next to his bed. Most were from family, but some were probably from some people at school who really felt bad for him. He tried to get up, but couldn't; it seemed his ribs were still a bit broken. Tears started to flow into his eyes, but he quickly rubbed them away and decided to lie back down. He let out a sigh, which also hurt, and a doctor walked into his room and went to his bed.

"Matthew Engarde, is it?" he said, examining his clipboard. He lifted some papers, and then looked back at Matthew.

Matthew nodded, and decided to ask him a question. "Do you know where my parents are?" He looked around to see if they were anywhere in the room where he couldn't see them.

The doctor sighed, and replied, "I'm sorry, Matthew, but… your mother apparently broke down due to your situation and your father is busy attending to her…" He again examined his clipboard to avoid Matthew's depressed look.

There was silence for a while, until Matthew decided to speak again. "Do you know when they'll be back?" He looked at the doctor, hoping for a good answer.

Instead, the doctor scratched his head, and said back, "I'm not sure… _but _I _will _tell the nurse to inform them that you finally woke up."

Matthew tried to smile, but he couldn't bring himself to. This shocked him, and he tried to feel the edges of his mouth to feel if there was anything out of the ordinary there. But, there was nothing there. He just _couldn't _smile. He lowered his hands slowly, and he suddenly felt like all the energy had drained out of him. He thought, _I'm just tired_, and decided to sleep off the fatigue.

But, the doctor called him once again. "Matthew, before you go back to sleep, you'll need to take your pain medication. It will help with your broken ribs…" he trailed off, and started to ask him a question: "How did you break your ribs at school?"

Matthew tried to laugh and say, "It's a long story", but he _couldn't _laugh either. Instead, he monotonously replied, "It's a long story."

The doctor paused, looked at his clipboard again, and looked at Matthew again. "That's a story you'll have to explain _later_; I have other patients waiting. Now, if you'll excuse me…" the doctor said as he quickly walked away from Matthew's room.

He lied back down, and tried to close his eyes to sleep, but… he _couldn't _sleep. He sighed in a melancholy tone, and decided to look at what kinds of presents he got while he was recuperating.

The first present and largest gift he got was from his parents. The tag on the present said, "Matthew, rest assured, we'll be there when you wake up!" Matthew tried to chuckle at the irony, but he couldn't, so he just ripped open the present and found a Steel Samurai fan set. "Steel… Samurai…?" he muttered. He had never heard of it. _It must be something new again_, Matthew sighed. _They always know what's going to be popular _ahead _of time._

Tossing the set aside, he went on to read all the assorted cards that were spread all over the stand next to his bed. They all pretty much said the same thing: "Get well soon, Matthew, and see you at school". Matthew scoffed. "They don't even want me at school," he said, and he pulled out all the money they had taped into the cards and hid the wad under his pillow.

He quickly put the cards aside and went on to the next gift. "Matthew, we're all waiting for you to open your eyes here, kiddo! From, the Engardes" was what the tag said. The present was from all of his cousins, so he anticipated that it would be a nice present. He pulled the tape off the top of the bag and took out all the extra papers used to bury the present they had for him. In it were not clothes, shoes, nor books. Instead, the bag contained a little check which was for exactly $1,440. In the memo, the words "Buy Matthew a pet!" were written. This was the first thing to bring a smile to his face, if only for a very short time. He hid the check under his pillow and proceeded to put all the rubbish into the biggest bag, when he spotted one last, little present.

_I wonder who this is from_, he thought as he reached for the plain little bag. There was no tag the gift bag at all, so he reluctantly opened the bag to find a CD. On the CD, there was a letter. It wrote,

_Matthew Engarde,_

_ You probably don't know me, since we've never talked, but I just really thought it was stupid of those guys to bully you. We all know _they're _gay, but they're just too afraid to admit it. So, I decided that I needed to give you an apology gift, and I'll see you at school—we have all our classes together, anyway. I hope you like the gift. Get better soon, too; it's not good to miss classes._

_Sincerely,_

_Juan Corrida_

Matthew didn't say anything, but instead, examined the CD closely. The band was well-known, and the music they played seemed very close to his genre preference. He read the letter over and over again, and they started to cry—there was someone out there who didn't think of him as an outsider.

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on his door. He waited for another patient to respond, but discovered he was the only patient inhabiting the room. "C-come in…" he timidly called. He started to think. _Who would visit me? It can't be Mom and Dad…_

The footsteps of the visitor were soft and from behind the curtain came a boy from Matthew's school. "Hey," the boy greeted, looking at the CD in Matthew's hand and Matthew's tear-stained face. "Um, do you not like the CD? I could return it, if you want…"

Matthew just stared at the boy. He did not say anything; he was trying to figure out just _who _this boy was.

The boy waved a hand. "Hey, um…" he said nervously, "if you don't know who I am, it's on the CD case. I'm Juan." He walked over to the side of Matthew's bed. "It's nice to meet you." He smiled a little.

Matthew still didn't respond, but started to cry, covering his face with his skinny hands. The tears wouldn't stop flowing, and it hindered Matthew from speaking properly.

"Whoa," Juan said, "it's either you talk, or you cry. You can't do both, or I won't understand you, Matthew." He chuckled, trying to lighten Matthew up.

"J-just call me Matt," he replied through the cries and hiccups.

"Matt?" Juan repeated, his eyes widening. "You want me to call you Matt?"

Matt nodded. "I-I like it better than Matthew." He clenched the CD in his hands. "A-and thank you for the CD," he continued, "You _really _didn't have to get me anything…"

Juan laughed. "It's not problem dude, we're friends now!"

"… Friends?" Matt stared at Juan with a dumbfounded look.

Juan smirked. "Yup, and this friend of yours has been visiting this hospital every single day to wait for you to wake up." He looked up, and started to mutter something to himself.

Matt spoke up, and asked, "W-what's wrong?"

"Two and a half months." Juan bluntly replied.

"W-what…?" Matt didn't understand Juan's reply.

"Oh," Juan said, looking at Matt again. "Two and a half months. That's how long you've been out of school."

Matt's jaw dropped.

"Oh, and those two guys who broke your ribs? They're expelled, so you don't have to worry about them." Juan shifted from one foot to the other. "So…"

"Thank you…" Matt said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Juan asked. "What did you say?"

"I said… thank you." Matt smiled just a little, and his energy seemed to be coming back to him, if only a little. "Thanks for being the first and only one here." As he looked down, he started to doze off.

"Oh, yeah," Juan said, "you should probably get your sleep. The pain must be hellish, after all." He laughed. "Well, see you at school, Matt." He walked out the door, leaving Matt in silence.

Matt grabbed his painkillers—the pain in his ribs was coming back—and he swallowed them and chugged his bottle of water. He lied down and started to close his eyes. And as he slept, he started to cry. But, they weren't all sorrowful tears; there were some tears of joy, as well.

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><p>Hey there! Here's one of the new stories I'm working on.<p>

It's about Matt Engarde, obviously. I'm currently _obsessed_ with him :]

So anyway, please review!


	2. Taking a Turn for the Worse

Here's chapter 2!

There's not much to say except sorry for the late update D:

I'm working on the next chapter right now to compensate!

Enjoy :3

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><p>"Hello again," the doctor said as he walked into Matt's room. Following him were Matt's mother and father.<p>

"Matty!" his mother screamed. She wrapped her arms all around Matt and started to wail. "I thought you would NEVER wake up, sweetie…" she pulled away to look into her son's eyes and as Matt stared back, he noticed she had noticeable wrinkles, bags, and crow's feet.

"Mom," Matt murmured, "your face…"

His mother widened her eyes, and then laughed bitterly. "Oh sweetie," she cooed, "how can Mommy worry about her appearance and her little baby at the same time?" She ran her fingers through his hair, but Matt spoke up again.

"Did you really break down?" he asked, worry clear in his eyes.

His mom didn't say anything. Since she was a model, she was _supposed to _look nice everywhere and anywhere, according to her manager. With her appearance looking like this, he assumed she wasn't working.

"Mom, have you… you haven't been working, huh?" Matt said monotonously.

Before Matt's mother could say anything, his dad intervened. "Now, Matthew," he said, "it's not like _all _of our income comes from your mother. You don't have to worry about _anything_." He ruffled Matt's hair and started to walk out the door. "You mother and I will go get you discharged from the hospital so you can go home today, alright?" They walked out the door with the doctor, and Matt was alone again.

Matt sighed, and laid back. He turned his back against the door and started to mutter. "I don't feel like doing anything. I just want to sleep." He buried his face in his pillows and he heard someone calling for him.

"Matty, sweetie!" It was his mom. "Hun, go get your stuff ready; we're taking you home!"

Matt did not move. Instead, he lied there, and started to think. _I wonder why I feel so terrible right now_, he thought. He wanted to take a look at the CD he had gotten, so he tried feeling for it on the table. Then, on the tips of his fingers, he felt the sleek, cold case. But, before he could grab it, his mom raised him up and started to untie his gown.

"Matty, honey," his mother cooed, "I know you're tired, but we're going home now. You need to get changed." After untying the gown, she pulled it off his shoulders and walked over to the table. "I'll get all these gifts for you, so just go and get dressed."

She walked out the door, not waiting for a response from Matt. He sluggishly pulled on his shirt and pants and brushed the hair out of his eyes. He did not try to get off the bed, but instead silently lifted the pillow, revealing the money he had gotten while he was in his coma. Checking to see if anyone was around, he quickly shoved all the money into his pockets, and grabbed his shoes.

Again, there was a knock at the door. Without hesitation, though, the person strolled in. "Matt," the voice called, "you still here?"

Matt's eyes lit up. "U-uh, yeah! I'm still here!" he replied. "Juan?"

And from behind the curtain appeared Juan. "Hey," he greeted, a smirk plastered onto his face. "I talked to the nurse at the front desk, and she said you were getting discharged today!" He took a seat on the stiff hospital bed.

"Oh, yeah, I know…" Matt quietly said back as he tried avoiding eye contact. He fiddled with his shoelace.

"Hmm," Juan said, evidently thinking about something to say. "Well," he started, "are you going to school tomorrow?"

Matt looked up with a less-than-excited expression on his face. "I don't know…" he said, "I don't feel like going."

"Oh…" Juan said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well—"

Interrupting their conversation, Matt's dad walked in. "Matthew, are you ready? Your mom and I are…" he trailed off. He even stopped _dead in his tracks _when he saw Juan sitting there. "_Who are you…?_" he asked, getting a little defensive.

Juan stood up stiffly. "Hey, Mr. Engarde," he tried to say casually, even extending a hand out. "My name's Juan. Your son and I are… acquaintances." He had a hard time keeping eye contact due to Matt's father's piercing gaze.

"Hmm…" his father said, scratching his chin, "How old are you, kid?"

Juan awkwardly scratched his head. "Um, I'm a freshman, sir."

"I see," he replied. Matt's father walked out of the room then. "If you're acquaintances with my son, you better see to it he doesn't get this badly injured again." With that, he left the room.

Matt sighed and looked apologetically at his friend. "Um, sorry, he's kind of on-edge about this whole thing…"

Juan smirked. "No worries. I was planning on keeping an eye out for you anyways!" He looked at the door. "You should get going soon," he said. "Do you want some help getting to the entrance?"

Matt started to put his shoes on. "That would help… Thanks."

As Juan accompanied Matt to the entrance of the hospital, Matt's mother quickly got a hold of him; but she paused to see who was helping her son to the door. "Um, who are you?" she asked with a weird look in her eye.

Before Juan could say anything, Matt quickly replied, "Don't worry… he's… he's my friend." He walked with his mother to his car. When he got in the backseat of the convertible, he turned to Juan and said, "Um, thanks… I'll see you around."

And with that, Matt sped away from his friend.

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><p>The closer Matt got to home, the more depressed he would seem to get. <em>I wanted to hang out with Juan more<em>, he thought sadly. But, at that same moment, he had arrived at his grand home.

As his mother helped him to the entrance, she started to bubble with excitement. "Oh, aren't you glad, hun? You're finally home!"

But, Matt did not respond. Instead, he robotically walked toward his house.

Right when they got home, they prepared their dinner. But, unfortunately for Matt, it was just a frozen dinner. He stared at it for a while, a bit confused.

His mother chuckled a little and said, "Matty, eat up! I know we don't have _that much _money since Mommy hasn't been working, but I'll start modeling again tomorrow. This'll just last for a little while, okay?"

Matt slowly nodded and reluctantly ate his cold mashed potatoes, peas, and steak. "I just want to get into bed…" he said to himself.

When he finished his food, he quickly went up into his room and plopped into bed. _I wonder why I feel so bad,_ he wondered as he dozed off.

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><p>Matt was woken up early in the morning by his mother. "Come on, Matty, you have school today," she said, looking very gorgeous in her modeling clothes.<p>

Matt slowly got up and rubbed his eyes. He quietly replied, "I'm up."

Matt threw some clothes on, and trudged over to his father's car. "Are you ready?" he asked, calmly smoking a cigarette in their front yard.

Matt looked at his father with dead eyes. "I thought you told mom you quit smoking," he replied as he got into the passenger seat of the car.

His father chuckled, and said, "A lot can happen in two and a half months." He threw the cigarette on the floor and crushed it. Then, he proceeded to get in the car and drive Matt to school.

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><p>As Matt stepped out of the car, all the students started to stare at him. As he walked into the school, he could hear the murmurs of some of the students,<p>

"He's the one, right?"

"Yeah. He was in a coma for two and a half months."

"Didn't he get his ribs broken?"

"Oh yeah! I saw that."

He tensely squeezed the books he was carrying, and went to his locker. But, as he stooped down to put in his combination, a group of freshmen approached him.

"Hey, you," the one in front of the group said. Matt looked up at them nervously. There were about five boys standing in front of him.

"It's all your fault, fag," one from the back yelled.

"If you hadn't cried like that, they wouldn't have gotten expelled," another said.

Matt cringed. _They're talking about the two that broke my ribs_, Matt thought in a panic. He desperately tried to escape such a terrible beating so soon, and crawled backwards and away from them… Until that is, he bumped into somebody.

In fear, Matt looked up. But, his face immediately lit up as he saw who he had bumped into.

_Juan_.

"Hey, guys," Juan said casually, but with a dangerous air, "Are you bugging my friend here?" He smiled, as the group of guys started to back away.

Juan walked up to one of them and grabbed him by the shirt. "_If you _ever _bug Matt again, I _swear _I'll get you all good._"

The boy started to whimper and ran away pathetically, tripping on things scattered in the hallway.

Matt stared in awe, and thought, _This guy is _amazing.

Juan sighed, and scratched his head. "Man, that was _close_!" He started to laugh, and turned to Matt. "You need help getting up?"

Matt stared at him, wide-eyed, and stretched out his arm. As Juan helped him up, he asked, "Why are they so afraid of you?"

As Matt stood next to Juan, he finally realized how tall and older-looking he seemed to be. Juan laughed again, and replied, "Some people think I'm some junior," he replied, leaning on a locker near Matt's. "Anyways…"

Matt looked up at his friend, and started to walk with him to their first class, which they had together.

Incidentally, Matt ended up sitting next to or near Juan for every class he had, which was a _good thing_. All they did in their classes was talk about unrelated things that went on while Matt was in his coma.

"Actually…" Juan said, playing with a lock of his hair, "there was something I wanted to ask you, but never got the chance to ask."

Matt looked at Juan. "What is it?"

Juan grinned at Matt. "Do you like acting?"

Matt stared blankly at Juan in response.

Juan kept talking. "Because the school's putting on an original play one of the students wrote," he explained, "and I was thinking of auditioning. And I was wondering if you wanted to audition, too."

It took Matt a while to process the idea, but when he got it, he started to smile. "Actually," he replied, "I've always wanted to perform in a play."

Juan grinned back. "Great. I'll just sign us both up after class, does that sound good?" As Matt nodded, the bell rang for lunch. "Oh, perfect timing. I'll see you outside, then," Juan said as he rushed excitedly out the door.

Since Juan left him alone, Matt started to walk slowly over to his locker, and as he started to rearrange the things in his backpack, another group approached him—this time, however, they were three _girls_.

When Matt looked up at them, he noticed that they were some of his fellow freshmen. However, they had very cold looks on their faces as they looked down at him. "U-uh…" Matt started, getting a worried look on his face, "can I help you…?"

The two girls in the back scoffed, and started to loudly whisper.

"Ha, he wants to know if he can _help _us."

"He really _can_ help us."

The girl in front looked down at Matt in a kind of condescending way. "Matt Engarde, right?"

Matt nervously nodded, and even started to bite his lip in anxiety. "Um… yeah, what do you need?"

The girl in front looked around for someone. As she realized the coast was clear, she leaned in close to Matt. "Listen. You seem to be getting _really _friendly with Juan. We want you to _stop_."

One of the girls in back added, "Yeah, we ALL know you're, like, gay, so stop trying to, like, seduce Juan, or whatever you're doing. 'Cause we can, like, totally see through you, you know?"

Matt continued to stare at them and softly replied, "Um, I'm not gay…"

The girl in front laughed. "Yeah, right." She pushed Matt in the ribs, sending him back a little, and they started to walk away. "We're serious, Matt, you better keep your distance. Or else."

As Matt tried to get up, he winced. _M-my ribs_, he thought, keeping a hand to the inflicted area. "It hurts…" he murmured as he tried to get up in the empty hallway. "Why is there no one to help me…?"


	3. I'll Name You Shoe

I'm very, very sorry for my pathetically late update! D:

I'm working on my stories right now, so please bear with me.

This chapter has been sitting in my computer for a month or two now, and I finally decided to post it, so please enjoy!

And please leave a review, if you can :]

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><p>When Matt had finally fought the pain his ribs cast upon him, he trudged to a table where Juan was seated. However, there were girls all around him. He seemed to be making polite small-talk with all of them until he saw Matt struggling to walk with a pained look on his face. "Oh, crap…" Juan muttered as he got up to help him. "Are you okay, Matt? I was wondering what happened to you."<p>

Before Matt could open his mouth and say anything, he distinctly saw the three girls responsible for his again achy ribs. He just shook his head and took a seat on the table.

A girl from the crowd started to talk to Juan in an annoyingly high-pitched voice, but not before throwing a dirty look at Matt. "So, Juan, is it true that you're going to be in the school production?"

Juan chuckled, and replied, "Well, I hope I am. I still have to audition for a role." He jerked his head in Matt's direction and added, "And my buddy Matt here's going to audition with me." He grinned, but all the girls put on sour looks.

"T-that's… nice?" one slowly said, looking uncertainly at the other girls.

Juan ignored them and turned to Matt. "Oh yeah, here," he said, pulling out some papers from his backpack. After taking a bite of his sandwich, he proceeded and said, "The person who's going to watch the auditions told me that we're all going to have to recite the same lines. It's in this script here somewhere…"

As Juan looked through the script for the line, Matt examined his script to see what the play would be about. As his eyes skimmed the page, he found what would seem to be the line everyone was to recite. It said:

"_I may be weak, but I will grow up strong and show you all. You may be better now, but I'll be the best. You may think I'm a coward today, but tomorrow, I will be fearless."_

Matt pondered on the words. _They're very powerful_, Matt thought, _they must be the lines of the main character._ He looked up at Juan, who seemed to be working on the lines as well. But, the only different thing was that all the girls were behind him, _swooning _over him. He sighed.

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><p>As Matt came home with his father, his mother was standing at the entrance with a worried look on her face. "Matty," she said, walking up to Matt, "did you eat your lunch?"<p>

Matt shook his head, and handed his mother the brown paper bag with his lunch in it. "I wasn't hungry," he said, and started up the stairs to his room.

But, his father called him. "Matthew," his father said, "you seem to be a bit down. Your mother and I have been talking… Do you want anything?"

Matt started to think, and then remembered one of the presents he got—that check. "Um, actually, I _do _have something I want. A pet."

His mother took a step back in surprise. "But, Matty! Don't you remember? Mommy's allergic to dogs."

She started to laugh, but then he replied, "My cousins gave me money to buy a pet." He started to continue up the stairs and added, "And I want a cat, anyways." He entered his room then softly closed the door behind him.

He did not move; he stayed right next to the door. He also proceeded to place his ear against the door to listen to what his parents had to say.

"… Cousins gave him money…"

"… Cat? I don't know…"

"…If he has the money…"

When he heard footsteps going up the stairs, he silently walked over to his bed and plopped onto it. He wanted to pretend that he was tired and out of energy, but he didn't have to—he _actually _felt that way. Right on time, he heard the _click _of his door and his parents awkwardly walked in.

"Matty? Can you wake up, sweetie?" his mother gently asked, walking closer to the side of his bed.

His father spoke next, saying, "Matthew, it's regarding what you said earlier. Get up."

At this, Matt slowly, and almost dramatically got up, his hair a bit out of place. "What is it?" he asked.

While gently fixing his hair, his mother cooed, "We've decided. You can get a pet."

Matthew tried to widen his eyes in surprise, and asked, "I can? Are you sure?"

His mother smiled, and nodded. "We can go right now to get one, if you want."

Matt quickly hopped off the bed, and tried to put his shoes on as quickly as possible. In the most enthusiastic voice he could talk in, he said, "Let's go right now, then!" This was the first time Matt became happy at home in a long time.

* * *

><p><em>I can't wait…<em> Matt thought happily as he practically shook with excitement in his seat in the back of the car.

"Matty, make sure that you like the cat before you buy it, because I don't think that this pet shop has returns…" Matt's mom said, looking up at the roof of the car.

They entered the mall and got to the third floor, where all the in-demand stores were.

As Matt energetically entered the lone pet shop in the shopping mall, he saw that most of the pets up for sale were dogs. He frowned, and looked left and right for a cat he could get.

"Do you need help with something?" an employee asked, looking at Matt with a bored look on her face.

Matt looked up at the girl, and hesitantly asked, "Um, do you have any cats that we could buy…?"

The employee paused, and then scoffed. "Sorry, kid, we only sell dogs, rabbits, and hamsters here. No cats."

Matt's eyes widened, and his voice shook as he repeated, "No… cats…?" He looked down, biting his lip.

Matt's father turned to the employee and asked, "Do you know where we could purchase a cat?" He instinctively reached for his cigarette box, but stopped, suddenly remembering that his wife was standing next to him.

The employee popped the gum in her mouth and obnoxiously chewed. She chewed with every word. "Um, let's see…" The employee tapped her fake, pink nails on the little counter she was leaning on. "I think you could call those breeders, but those little kitties are _really _expensive."

"I see…" Matt's father turned to him, and said, "We should call a breeder, son."

Matt hesitantly and timidly shook his head, still looking down.

"We should go, then." Matt's parents walked out of the store, while Matt lagged behind.

"Come again soon if you don't want a cat, okay?" the employee optimistically said, even waving at the three as they walked away.

Disappointed, and now pessimistic, Matt blankly stared out a window of his car as he and his parents drove home.

"Matthew, we will go contact a pet breeder as soon as possible, so stop being so sad," his father said, trying not to turn back to see his sullen son.

His mother agreed. "Yeah, Matty, cheer up! You're going to get a kitty soon." His mother pulled down the built-in mirror in the convertible to check her makeup.

He sighed, and replied in an annoyed tone, "Okay, I get it. I'm not even that sad..." As he trailed off, he saw in the corner of his eye a sandy brown blob sitting on the sidewalk. He widened his eyes, and yelled desperately, "STOP! WAIT!"

The car screeched to a halt—As Matt's parents were still recovering from the recoil of the sudden stop, Matt jumped quickly out of the car and ran across the street, not bothering to look for any oncoming cars.

"Matthew," his father called in a cracked voice, "What the hell are you doing?"

Matt's mother also tried her hardest to look out the driver's window. With her bright, bubblegum pink lipstick smeared across her cheek, she repeated, "What the hell are you doing? Matty, GET BACK HERE!"

Matt did not listen; instead, he picked up the chestnut-colored bundle and stroked it. Out of the bundle appeared two eyes, a little, pink nose, and white whiskers. The kitten uttered a weak, "Meow..." And Matt held it tighter.

Taking cautious steps across the street this time, Matt crawled slowly into the backseat. Still holding the kitten for his life, he looked up at his worried, but angered parents.

"We know you wanted a cat, but this is uncalled for…" his father remarked, looking at the dirty kitten in disgust.

Matt looked back down at the kitten and replied, "This way, I won't have to spend my money. Isn't this better? I'll take care of it by myself, if I have to." The kitten purred as Matt tried to pull out the litter out of its fur.

His mother gave a tired sigh and looked back into the mirror. Pulling out a handkerchief and wiping her face, she muttered, "Hurry up and get us home. I'm not feeling well."

The rest of the car ride was deathly silent and awkward—the only sound that could be heard was the kitten purring and meowing.

Matt fidgeted in his seat. _Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean for Mom to get mad…_ he thought gloomily. He sighed and continued to pet the cat.

When the car finally stopped and was parked into the driveway, Matt quickly ran up to his room and shut the door. He took off his shoes and placed the kitten on his floor.

"This is your new home…" he said shyly, waiting for the kitten's rating of the room. He watched as it ran about, trying to examine everything and anything in the room it inhabited. Matt let out a laugh as the kitten tried to get comfortable in the Steel Samurai-themed basket his parents had given him. "Do you like it here?"

The kitten meowed happily in response and Matt smiled. "Good." He paused, and thought about what he needed now that he had a pet. He counted the necessary items he needed on his fingers. _Let's see… I need to go buy some cat food; I need a bed for it to sleep on…Wait… it? I don't even have a name for it yet…_ Matt looked at the kitten, who rolled over while trying to claw at some misplaced streamers he had on his desk.

"You're a boy…" Matt started, watching the kitten's every move. After giving up on the streamers, the brown kitten tried to find something else to amuse him. First, he tried to climb Matt's bed, but failed—it was too high for him. Next, he tried the basket again, only to look and feel awkward lying on top of Steel Samurai merchandise.

Matt got up, and made sure the kitten didn't notice too early that he was about to exit the room. He slowly tiptoed down the stairs, making sure not to make _too much_ noise.

From the kitchen, he could hear his parents having dinner—they always had dinner at the same routine time. When Matt entered the kitchen, his mother looked up and asked, "What is it, hun?"

From this question, Matt's father also looked up and asked, "Do you need something?"

Matt looked up at them and started to twiddle his thumbs. "Um," he started, "actually…"

His parents looked at each other before looking at Matt again.

"I need food," he finally said.

Matthew's mother gave him a strange look and replied, "Then sit at the table and eat, Matty." She placed a hand near the empty plate and silverware laid out for him.

But Matt shook his head. "I meant food… for my cat."

His parents paused, before his father scratched his head and answered, "All right… We'll go get you some cat food after dinner. Just be patient, son."

Matt's face lit up and he said, "Oh, thank you!" He turned around and ran upstairs back into his room. Before going in, he took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, as not to scare his pet. He peeked from behind the door to watch his pet, but he had no need to be cautious—his kitten was sleeping soundly in one of the sneakers he had taken off earlier.

He smiled, and watched the cat nap peacefully. In an almost inaudible whisper, he said, "Hmm… I think… I'll name you… Shoe."


	4. The Results Are In!

I'm so sorry this update took... almost two years to get published. Truth be told, this chapter has been sitting in Word for approximately a year now, but I thought I had already published it. Anyway, someone asked if I was going to update this story again, so here it is.

If I ever manage to finish chapter five, there might be a change in writing style.

* * *

><p>At the next meeting for the production, Matt was shaking uncontrollably. He was nervous.<p>

Juan noticed his nervous shaking and laughed. "Relax, Matt," he said, lightly nudging his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Matt laughed nervously with him, but he could feel the cold glares and stares all the girls present were giving him. He stopped laughing and started to fidget.

Slowly, but surely, people lined up to audition in front of the committee that would decide who would be in the play. Matt stood near the end of the line, while Juan towered over him from behind.

_I'm going to do fine,_ Matt thought to himself, _I'm going to do fine._

"Next!" A voice called from inside the small room. Matt looked around—he was next in line. His knees started to buckle until Juan shoved him forward. He turned his head to see his friend grinning.

"They're calling you," he said, still grinning. "Go audition."

Matt forced a half-smile on his lips and slowly trudged into the room. As he entered, he immediately noticed the room was stuffy and hot. Also, he couldn't hear the low chatter of the other people in the auditorium from past the walls. Hesitantly, he softly shut the door behind him, and walked in front of the table of committee members.

He twiddled his thumbs as one of the committee members fiddled with her clipboard. As she looked down at the clipboard, she said in a cheery voice, "You must be… Matthew Engarde, right?" The girl looked up at him and gave him a warm smile.

Before Matt could think to respond, his voice was caught in his throat. Before him was a beautiful, kind-looking girl whose wavy hair fell softly on her shoulders. She sat in the middle of the table and was the only one considerate enough to greet him. As he stared, his jaw had dropped slightly.

The girl cocked her head slightly to the side as she asked, "Um, you _are_ Matthew Engarde right? I hope the list wasn't wrong…" She started to fiddle with her pile of papers before Matt tried to stop her.

He lifted his hand and waved it. "O-oh, you don't have to do that. I-I'm Matt Engarde."

The girl paused, and then put down her papers. She sat up a little straighter, and then stated, "Okay then! Um, well since you're auditioning, we're going to need to see how you recite the line that was given to you on your script. Ready?"

Matt nodded, still shaking a little. He cleared his throat, and, without trying to think too much about it, he started to say the line. As practiced, he also paused for more effect. _Don't mess up,_ he thought desperately in his head; _please do not mess up…!_

Once he finished, he let out a deep breath. He immediately looked down to his shoes and held the bottom of his shirt in his clenched fists, hoping for not _too much_ criticism. But, when none of the judges said anything, he hesitantly looked up. His eyes widened when all five of the students sitting before him stared at him with awe.

The girl in the middle from before was the first one to speak. "That… was amazing!" she squealed, clapping as her eyes sparkled. "That must have been the _best _audition we've had all day. Bravo, Matthew!"

Matt shuffled his feet. "Y-you don't have to try and cheer me up if it was bad—"

"No!" The girl yelled now, clattering her clipboard on the table. "That _truly _was an amazing recitation of the lines. You have a GREAT chance of getting the lead role!" She clapped her hands together and smiled. Then, she realized how loud her outburst was, turned red, and sat back down quickly.

Matt laughed a little. It felt good to be praised as strongly as he was.

The girl coughed. "Well, um..." she started, flipping papers in her clipboard, "Can you call the last person to audition, Juan Corrida in here, please?"

Matt nodded his head with enthusiasm. "Of course." He walked to the door, and before he opened it, the girl called out to him again.

"Um, Matthew?" Matt turned to her. "Thank you for auditioning!" She gave him a quick nod as he walked out the door.

As Matt stepped out of the stuffy room and into the cool auditorium, Juan approached him, being trailed,_ of course_, by his annoying little fans. "Hey, Matt, how was it?" In his right hand, he held his script. Already it seemed to be filled with highlights, notes, and annotations.

_He seems to be more dedicated than anyone to this play…_ Matt thought. He looked up at Juan. "It… was okay."

"Oh, come on," Juan said, smiling, "I bet you're lying." He playfully punched Matt and headed toward the audition room. "Wish me luck, yeah?"

Matt didn't know what would be appropriate for the moment—a handshake? Fist bump? High five, maybe? In the end, all he did was awkwardly keep his arms at his sides and smile, saying in the least shaky voice he could manage at the time, "Good luck."

Juan gave him a confident smirk before entering the room, and when the door closed, Matt tensed up. Things _never _went well with Matt and other people if Juan wasn't there.

"You're such a sneaky _bitch_, you know that?" He gulped. It was a girl's voice. He turned around to find an angry-looking group of Juan's fan-girls.

Another girl backed up the first. "Stop trying to hide it. That _totally _just revealed it._ You're trying to hit on Juan_."

Matt took an uneasy step back. "I-I wasn't—"

"Don't pull that crap!" A girl from the back of the mob was yelling now. "Stop using _how pathetic you are _as an excuse to get close to him!" the mob was inching closer and closer to him—soon, Matt was cornered.

_Help me_, he thought desperately. _Someone, help…! _He looked about him, breaking into a sweat. He didn't know what these crazy girls would do; Juan wasn't there to help him and keep them at bay.

All the other people who auditioned had either left already or just watched as the girls harassed Matt. _Just like when he was being bullied_.

He squeezed his eyes shut; he didn't want to see what would be done to make him suffer this time.

He heard the sound of a heel _click_ forward. Against his better judgment, he opened one eye so slightly it was like a slit. The one girl in front had her hand raised, and it looked like she was getting ready to _claw at _something.

"You deserve this." The girl muttered under her breath—she only muttered loud enough for Matt to hear.

She swung her arm down, ready to strike, when—

_CLICK._

Everyone's heads turned slowly toward the origin of the sound.

There he was—Matt's savior. "…What are you doing?" Juan asked; his voice was low and serious.

The group of girls immediately fanned away from Matt, as if he was plagued with a disease. The girl who was _so close _to hurting him pulled her hand away and started to stammer. "We-well…"

"_Can you just leave him alone?_" Juan inquired in a disgusted tone. "Would it _really _be so hard to just not pick on him?"

The girl started to shake. Soon after, she screamed angrily and ran out of the auditorium with her posse. All the other students could only gawk at the scene they had caused.

But, ignoring the retreating group, Juan approached Matt and pulled him up. "Hey, they didn't hurt you or anything, right?" He sounded concerned, as usual.

Matt, too ashamed to look him in the eye, just mumbled, "I'm fine…"

The rest of the students started to buzz with chatter, until the girl from the auditioning room walked out with her clipboard.

"Um, excuse me, everyone!" She tapped her pen on her clipboard to catch attention.

Everyone then started to crowd around her, eager to hear the announcement. In that one action, people left behind the previous episode and moved on to something else that seemed to catch their short attention spans. As Matt watched them, he sighed to himself.

He felt sluggish, and didn't want to move, so he stayed distant and in the back of the crowd. But, nevertheless, he tried his best to listen to what she was going to say.

"Well, first of all, the committee would like to thank you _all _for auditioning for this production!" she clapped her hands in praise, and some other students joined in, particularly Juan.

She continued, "We'll have the roles of everyone posted tomorrow at lunch. So please check it as soon as possible…"

Matt's heart started to beat faster and louder. _So soon…?_ He gulped. _I'm not ready to see what I have…_ His little balled fists shook.

"If you're playing a major role, the committee will need to see you whenever you're free; the moderator wants to order costumes soon!" She flipped through a little pile of papers on her board. "Don't worry though; we'll just be measuring you for the costumes. We'll also be handing you new scripts and schedules for practices, meetings, and the planned dress rehearsal." She looked up and smiled again. "Auditions are now over!"

After her announcement, the students gathered up closer to her to ask other questions. But, Matt stayed where he stood, only looking down in anxiety. As he tried to focus his vision, he could see a pair of shoes in front of him. He looked up slowly.

Juan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, are you sure you're okay?" He gave Matt a quick glance before he stared at the girl answering questions. "You don't have to worry about anything. You did fine."

Matt nodded in silent agreement and replied, "Y-yeah, you're right…" He gulped. "I…I'm going home now, okay? See you tomorrow…" Weakly, he brushed Juan's hand off his shoulder and walked off and out of the auditorium.

As he walked alone, he didn't bother looking up. _I'm scared,_ he thought, clenching his teeth.

* * *

><p>The next morning, in front of his school, Matt hesitantly sat in his car, taking an exceedingly long time just to unbuckle his seatbelt. His father, who was in the driver's seat, tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Any longer, son, and I'm going to be late to work." He checked his wristwatch for the umpteenth time, and let out a long breath.<p>

Matt nodded, and said back, "Sorry, I'll get out now…" He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. After stepping out, his father backed up quickly and gave him a quick nod before driving out of the parking lot and onto the street. Before long, a figure approached Matt, towering over him like a skyscraper.

"Hey," Juan greeted, giving Matt his signature crooked smile. "Are you excited to check out the roles for the play?"

"N-not really…" Matt confessed, gripping the straps of his backpack with his small hands. "I'm more nervous than excited…"

When Juan replied, they started to walk. "Come on, I told you you'd do fine," he assured, gently shoving Matt from the side. "Just trust me."

All Matt could do in response was nod. The only thing that he could process was regret for auditioning. He wanted to have the lead role – who wouldn't? But he knew no one else would be satisfied with him as the lead. He let out a soft sigh as he entered the double doors of his school once again.

During his homeroom, as he spoke to Juan, Matt caught a bit of conversation going on between two other people who were at the auditions the day before.

"Are you really going to do it?"

"Yeah, who the hell can wait until lunch? I heard the chick who was leading the judges yesterday has the roles on a poster already."

"You mean Alexce? But, are you sure you can just—"

"Man, shut up and quit your whining! You wanna know just as badly as I do if we're even in it."

Matt gulped as he stole a quick glance in the two's direction. Juan noticed and laughed. "Calm down, Matt. They're just being idiots. Bet they can't even pull it off."

Ignoring Juan, he turned to the two boys. "Um," he started off in an almost inaudible voice, "A-are you really going to get the poster?" He looked straight up at the two, and they looked as surprised as Juan did.

One of them slowly opened their mouth in a reply. "Uh, yeah, we're going to _try_ to…why?"

"If you _do_ get it…" Matt slowly murmured, his eyebrows creasing in worry, "could you let me see it?"

The two boys looked at Matt, then at each other. Suddenly, they burst into howling laughter.

"Yeah, sure!" One managed to utter in between his laughs.

"I didn't think you were like that, Engarde," the other said after, stifling his laughs behind his hands.

Matt smiled a bit then turned back around, a refreshed look on his face. His shoulders relaxed and the smile refused to leave his face.

Juan looked at him for a bit, and then chuckled. "You know that if they get caught, you're in for part of the blame too, right?"

"I know," Matt chimed back, "but…I feel like it'll be just fine."

Immediately after those words, the bell rang for the next class.

* * *

><p>When the bell rang for break, Matt tried to get to the outdoor lunch tables as swiftly as possible to get a breath of fresh cold air, as opposed to the stuffiness that inhabited the halls of the school building. When he took his first breath, he heard a voice. "Psst, Engarde, come here."<p>

From the sound of his name, Matt turned his head to the left. Standing shadily near the corner of the building was one of the boys he had spoken to earlier. "What is it?" he asked, his curiosity obviously piqued.

The boy gave a devious smirk as he showed Matt a bit of a poster, treating it as if it were something that wasn't supposed to be at school at all. "I got it, man."

Matt's eyes widened in surprise, and he covered his mouth to stop himself from letting out any unnecessary noise. Trying to lower his voice, he asked desperately, "Did you already check it!?"

"Not yet," the boy replied, rolling up the poster more and more, "I was planning on announcing the roles, you know? Makes it seem more dramatic and stuff."

Matt's pulse quickened. "O-oh…" he stammered, his cheeks and ears getting hot out of nervousness. "Do you think I could check it first, then…?"

The boy shrugged, and tossed the poster Matt's way. "Sure, but I'm still announcing roles, alright?"

"Sure…" Matt replied. After taking one last gulp, he unraveled the poster. After scanning its contents for a brief period, his eyes practically shot open, and his breath got caught in his throat. His hands shook, and he barely even noticed the chatter of the rest of the students exiting the building.

"Crap, they're here…!" the boy said under his breath. He snatched the poster from Matt and jumped onto the top of a table. "Hey, everyone!" the boy said as he stomped on the table to draw attention.

Everyone except Matt turned to look at him. "As you know, the school's holding a production. And it just so happens…" He unrolled the poster. "…The roles have already been decided."

Yells followed this announcement; some were excited, while some protested in concern. Shoving through the crowd, Juan approached Matt, whose face was as blank as ever. "Dude, do you hear this!?" he yelled, the excitement evident in his voice.

Matt ignored him. He felt conflicted. He wanted to hear it, but at the same time he wanted to run back inside.

"Well, even if you don't wanna hear it, I'll be announcing the roles, so if you don't wanna hear it, you can leave."

Despite the protests just a moment before, no one went back into the building. The boy smirked. Clearing his throat, he began. "Well, I'm pretty sure everyone's _dying _to hear who's the lead. But really, it was pretty obvious who would get it from the start!" After letting the crowd get hyped up and excited for the news, he yelled, "The person playing Fang, the lead, is…"

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it would block out his voice. Unfortunately, it seemed his ears were tuned to listen to the voice, whether he liked it or not. Tears threatened to flow as the boy began.

"Juan Corrida!"


End file.
